Buster Clegg had a connection to the game of hockey in Rhode Island for most of his life, touching all levels of the sport right up to his passing in 2024 at age 87.
Born April 21, 1937, he was raised in rural Burrillville, RI. He starred on defense for the town’s famous high school team coached by the legendary Tom Eccleston.
In 1955 season, Buster capped his high school career by earning All-State honors on a Broncos team that captured the R.I. Interscholastic League championship and represented our state in the New England tournament. An exceptional student, he also was named to the National Athletic Honor Society for achievement in sports and in academics.
Buster attended the University of New Hampshire where he played hockey for four years. The stalwart defenseman was named team co-Captain & co-MVP as a senior in 1959.
After graduation, Buster impressed RI Reds owner Lou Pieri with his hockey resume and enthusiasm. He was hired as PR director for both the team and the RI Auditorium. Buster was named the team’s GM in 1966, then one of the youngest general managers in pro hockey. Most importantly, he was one of the very first hockey executives to focus on U.S. collegiate hockey as a source of professional talent.
For close to four decades, Buster was also active as a youth hockey coach, helping to develop the East Providences youth hockey program and serving in several capacities in the development of other hockey programs throughout RI. He was a founder of the Barrington Youth Hockey Assoc. in the early 70’s and among the founders of an older team of RI amateurs that represented the state in tournaments throughout the NE region.
Buster’s knowledge of the game also saw him serve occasionally as a between-periods analyst for televised Boston Bruins games. Meanwhile, he continued to play on several amateur hockey teams, among them the RI Scarlets and the RI Oldies.
In 1999, Buster became the founding president of the RI Reds Heritage Society and the catalyst for the tremendous growth of that non-profit organization. Its success was and remains unquestionably a reflection of the relationships and contacts he developed as a publicist general manager and ambassador of the Reds’ hockey franchise.
One of the first of its kind and a model for others nationally, the Heritage Society has led the Society’s focus on the development and administration of programs for young players and the fans of the game. In 2016, Buster continued on that path as one of the founding Board members of the Rhode Island Hockey Hall of Fame
It is unlikely that anyone has served the game of hockey in so many ways in Rhode Island history. For that reason, he was awarded the RI Hockey Hall of Fame’s Malcolm Greene Chace Trophy in 2020 for “Lifetime contributions of a Rhode Islander to the game of hockey.”
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